Word to the Wise
Thursday, October 6, 2022 - Thursday in the 27th Week in Ordinary Time
[Gal 3:1-5 and Luke 11:5-13]"And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened." [Luke]
Prayer is not about things or "getting things." The Gospel According to Luke is clear about the danger of material things as obstacles to our relationship with God. It is the relationship that matters. Jesus shared, and continues to share, his relationship with his Father with us and that relationship was one of prayer. The result for the Christian is the Spirit that enables us to meet the challenges of life. But, prayer requires persistence!
All friendship is a matter of persistent love. I once saw a sign in a dentist's office that said "Teeth are like friends. If you ignore them, they go away!" The complaint that I hear often in the Sacrament of Reconciliation or in spiritual direction is that there's "no time to pray." In addition to persistence, a good prayer life does require discipline. It is not the quantity of prayer(s) that is important, it is the intentionality. I often tell students that if they wake up in the morning and put their feet on the floor, they can say: "Lord, nothing can happen today that you and I can't handle together!" That makes God a partner in the day, and the student can feel free to comment to God about the day while going through it! If devotions like the rosary are helpful, then use them. If not, then speak from the heart and mind. St. Thomas Aquinas tells us that the best analogy for a human relationship with God is human friendship! What we do have to remember, however, is that even if we are not persistent or disciplined, God does not go away. We do. AMEN